UN Warning: Progress On Illegal Drugs Under Threat

UN warns that global progress on illegal drugs is
under threat

26 June 2008 - A surge in opium
and coca cultivation and the risk of higher drug use in
developing countries threaten to undermine recent progress
in drug control, according to a report released today by the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

"Recent
major increases in drug supply from Afghanistan and Colombia
may drive addiction rates up, because of lower prices and
higher purity of doses," Antonio Maria Costa, Executive
Director of UNODC, said today in a statement.

The report
says the world's illegal opium production has almost doubled
since 2005 and that Afghanistan registered a record opium
harvest in 2007. Some 80 per cent of cultivation took place
in provinces controlled by Taliban insurgents.

A similar
pattern was noted in Colombia where coca cultivation
increased by 27 per cent in 2007 - which was still 40 per
cent below the peak reached in 2000 - with 5 per cent of the
country's municipalities accounting for almost half of all
cocaine production.

"In Colombia, just like in
Afghanistan, the regions where most coca is grown are under
the control of the insurgents," Mr. Costa observed, but he
added that the Colombian Government's campaign against drug
traffickers had successfully destroyed large-scale coca
plots.

Worldwide, the report found that fewer than one in
20 people had tried illegal drugs in the last 12 months and
that there were 26 million people with severe dependence -
about 0.6 per cent of the planet's adult population.

The
global cannabis market is stable or even slightly down.
Cannabis herb production is estimated to be 8 per cent lower
than in 2004 and cannabis resin production declined by some
20 per cent between 2004 and 2006. Despite this, the report
says there are some worrying trends, with Afghanistan
becoming a major producer of cannabis resin, possibly
surpassing Morocco.

Meanwhile, in developed countries,
indoor production is resulting in more potent strains of
cannabis herb. The average level of the drug's psychoactive
substance almost doubled in the US market between 1999 and
2006.

Use of amphetamine-type stimulants, like
methamphetamine and ecstasy, has levelled off globally since
2000, but production and consumption remain a major problem
in East and South-East Asia, and markets are beginning to
develop in the Near and Middle East.

The report finds that
there has been a systematic shift away from the major drug
routes, particularly for cocaine. Because of steady demand
for cocaine in Europe and improved interdiction along
traditional routes, drug traffickers have targeted West
Africa.

"States in the Caribbean, Central America and West
Africa, as well as border regions of Mexico, are caught in
the crossfire between the world's biggest coca producers
(the Andean countries) and biggest consumers (North America
and Europe)," Mr. Costa warned. "Drug money corrupts
governments, and even turns into terrorist financing:
promotion of the rule of law is the best way to fight the
drug trade."

Assessing organized international attempts to
control drugs, this year's "World Drug Report" shows that
global opium production is 70 per cent lower than a hundred
years ago.

"Drug statistics show that the drug problem was
dramatically reduced over the past century, and has
stabilized over the past 10 years," Mr. Costa said.

In a
related development, a study on drug consumption in six
South American countries has found that marijuana is the
most widely used drug, mainly among the young population.
The average consumption rate in the six countries studied -
Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador - was
4.8 per cent, higher than the world average of 3.9 per cent.
In all countries consumption was higher among men than women
and was concentrated in the 15 to 34 age group.

The study,
which was carried out by UNODC and the Inter-American Drug
Abuse Control Commission, found that cocaine was the second
most consumed drug in 2007, with an average prevalence of
1.4 per cent.

For the three main types of drugs studied -
marijuana, cocaine and cocaine base - the report says that a
high percentage of consumers in the six countries showed
signs of dependency.

"These results clearly illustrate the
power of addiction these drugs have, with foreseeable
negative consequences. Not only in the personal, family and
social context, but also with regard to most of the
countries' health systems, where it would be quite
challenging to satisfy a massive demand for treatment," the
report concludes.

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